My Approach
Ecotherapy
Robin Wall Kimmerer, in her book Braiding Sweetgrass, talks about species loneliness: "a deep, unnamed sadness stemming from estrangement from the rest of Creation, from the loss of relationship." Compounded with this, for some of us, is climate anxiety — worry, fear, grief, and anger about climate change and environmental disasters.
We heal the loneliness, paralysis, and overwhelm by orienting toward mending our disconnection from the ecosystem we are embedded in.
You may have heard of plant medicine — tinctures, salves, ingestibles that are beneficial to our bodies. Plant medicine is also the nourishment of reengaging our senses — what we hear, smell, see, touch, and experience when in contact with the living world.
Photo Credit: Tahira Benevelli
We can practice this in session, whether on a walk or virtually. Even if we are indoors, we can begin with a breath acknowledging that we are here, in these bodies, held by our earth, sharing intention together. And we can end with a breath recognizing our interdependence with the life around us — breathing in what plants have exhaled, breathing out fuel for photosynthesis.
"What we are in control of is our relationship to the earth. It is the most authentic facet of the restoration. Here is where our most challenging and most rewarding work lies, in restoring a relationship of respect, responsibility, and reciprocity. And love.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer